It’s about time for our fruits here at Happy Acres to begin ripening. The first ones will likely be blueberries. We have a couple of bushes that are bearing well, and several younger ones that have not really taken off much. This one is Elizabeth, one of our favorites for flavor. The first berries should be ripe in a couple of weeks.
clusters of unripe blueberries
The blackberries are really loaded with berries this year. We have two varieties of upright thornless blackberries planted, Natchez and Apache. Natchez looks like it will have more berries than Apache this year, and I do believe the berries have a slightly better flavor as well. We should have plenty if I can keep the deer away, and I will cover with bird netting before they begin ripening. It will probably be another month before they start to turn.
Natchez blackberries
We’ve yet to get our first taste of the pawpaws we planted a few years back. We had several ripening last year, but the opossums got to them before they were fully ripe. I need to develop some sort of critter strategy if they ever start fully bearing. We have a few green fruits that have set on this year, but I don’t know if they will drop before they ripen or not. This fruit is native to our area, and relatively pest free except for four legged critters.
pawpaws setting on
The red currants have been a big disappointment to me since we planted them several years ago. They have never sized up like they should, and last year I left them for the birds to enjoy. Based on how they look so far, I imagine I will do the same this year.
red currants
Speaking of the birds, the real attraction for them is the giant mulberry tree we have in the back yard. I haven’t yet developed a taste for them, but the birds love them! It seems like every bird in the county is in our yard when they are ripe. The possums climb up in the tree at night and have a feast too.
mulberries
The mulberries do seem to help keep the birds off the others fruits, like the cherries. Our two trees won’t have a lot of them this year, but we should get a few – maybe enough for a cobbler!
North Star cherries
Though it’s used like a vegetable, the first fruits of the container eggplants I set out last month are coming on. This one is Patio Baby, and these should give us our first (and second) taste of eggplant this year. I also have Fairy Tale planted in containers, and these two AAS Winners are great performers for both in-ground and container plantings. The purple blooms are ornamental, and the eggplants themselves are quite tasty too!
Patio Baby eggplants
That’s all the fruits I could find around here so far. I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!
This is a really nice blog post, I was pottering in the garden yesterday evening and was eyeing up some future fruits too – mine were strawberries, gooseberries and blueberries. However my blueberries are nowhere as abundant as yours – how lovely. Oh wow mulberries. I am so envious – are they easy to grow? You have such a good variety of fruit growing. I look forward to seeing them when ripe and ready to eat! Have a good weekend.
Interesting you think the red currants are not so good… they look pretty much like mine and I am always happy with them. envious of the chance to grow pawpaws… hope you can find a way to protect them from being eaten before you can pick them yourself
The currants were listed as having ‘large’ fruit and I guess I was expecting something bigger. Compared to the other fruits we grow, the currants are tiny.
Lots of promise of things to come.
Those blueberries are making me jealous! My blackberry patch has been a mess since day 1 and this year, I decided to remove it (i.e. simply mow over it) as, after talking to quite a few people about what a thornless blackberry should be like, I realized that “thornless” actually meant “no thorns” and not “fewer thorns”, so it was obvious that the variety I received was definitely not the one that I ordered.
Yes, our thornless canes are totally smooth and thorn-free! It makes picking the fruit painless.